Say Hello Selects Nuance for New Free DA Service
Nuance Communications has extended its reach into the free directory assistance (DA) market by providing speech solutions and services to Say Hello, an advertiser-supported voice portal network designed to connect local consumers with local merchants through enhanced directory information services.
Say Hello selected Nuance Voice Search: Free DA, a suite of speech recognition technology and directory search applications, to allow callers to find their way to people, places, and things faster and more accurately. In addition, Nuance's professional services team worked with Say Hello to develop and customize a hosted DA service that yields high automation rates while maintaining a natural and intuitive customer experience.
Say Hello delivers a wide range of business, residential and government phone listings, entertainment, sports, classifieds for real estate and automobile listings, and weather information, through local market voice portals.
Starting in Jacksonville, Fla., as a cooperative joint venture with The Florida Times-Union newspaper, Say Hello plans to introduce localized information and advertising services in 200 cities across the country. Working with Nuance, the firm plans to deliver a national coverage but with a localized content advertising network, targeted specifically at the mobile consumer.
"As Say Hello continues to roll out its service to new markets across the country, we're excited to hear positive responses from consumers finding value in a local market, ad-supported, free enhanced directory information services that give them what they are looking for, quickly and easily," said James Geddes, Jr., president, CEO, and founder of Say Hello. "Voice automation solutions from Nuance keep our cost-per-call low, yet the automated solution works as well, if not better, than a live agent. Building on the Nuance Free DA platform, we can continue to offer compelling services with a local focus as we scale our offering to additional regions across the country."
"Providers such as Say Hello are creating innovative new business models in response to growing customer and advertiser demand for ad-supported, local directory assistance services," said Michael Thompson, vice president and general manager of mobile search and communications solutions at Nuance. "Nuance has worked closely with Say Hello to develop a hosted solution that will accommodate significant growth in call volume. The Nuance professional services organization will continue to work with Say Hello on voice user interface optimization, along with customized applications that will further improve automation rates."